•I checked the instrument, the box, the rolls, and the roll boxes, only to discover that it was spelled "PLAYASAX", in all caps in all these places. But in e-mail conversation, I usually refrain from typing all caps, so have used "PlayASax" as a compromise, although I recognize that it was (is) misl...

•Robbie commented in MMD 990801: >[ Product names in the MMD Archives try to follow the conventions >[ used in the reference book "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical >[ Instruments". Author Q. David Bowers and his advisors seem to prefer >[ the name used by the manufacturer in correspondence or adver...

•The question was _not_ "can it be done," but a request for advice and opinions on the possibility of converting an Orchestrelle to play 88-note rolls. I firmly agree with Berley Firmin and Kim Bunker. Three cheers for you guys! 88-note piano rolls converted to play organ music will only serve to sa...

•My low cost laser piano roll perforator seems to be working quite well. I put a lot of effort into this project in spite of the fact that I do not have any roll playing instruments other than QRS Play-a-Saxes and Rollmonicas. I recently made a test roll and sent it to someone with a player and appa...

Hi there all you automusicians from England. First, welcome to the new subscribers from the UK, Jeff and Nina Borinsky and Dan Wilson. I am not a member of the Player Piano Group in London so I cant recall meeting you, I am in the MBSGBI, AMICA and the North West Player Piano Association. (And other...

•For Sale: Seeburg A , Best condition with 10 A rolls, refinished. Hello to all. We are at last able to be back with you regularly. Our thousands and thousands of sheet music pieces are still going strong and a new catalogue and new web site are only a few weeks away after Easter. I have an assigned...

•[ Re MMD 040710, "Blow-a-Tune" Player Panpipe Musical Toy ] Dear Phillip & Bea: "Blow-a-Tune" was made by Kenner Products, Cincinnati, OH, c. 1949. Cardboard discs are punched to play a tune on 10 fixed plastic organ pipes. The player's air power operates the pipes as the handle turns the disc. It ...

•The Play-A-Sax is made of pot metal and most have corroded to the point that it is very risky to attempt to separate the three major castings. The pieces are virtually welded together, in most cases, as well as being very brittle due to decomposition of the alloy. I would not recommend attempting t...

•The Play a Sax can be opened up by removing the ends, and then the harmonica slips out easily. The problem is that the ends often stick to the main body by metallic corrosion. If you are unlucky it will be impossible to get in. I have been lucky with one of mine and was able to correct a few proble...

•The ends of the Play-a-Sax are a simple push fit, metal to metal. There is no pin holding the two parts together, unless a previous restorer has added this. Metallic corrosion can make the two parts difficult to separate. The advantage of the Clarola, which uses an identical centre part with the ha...

•After moving a household where my Play A Saxes were I do not know where they are or I could look. However, I have taken apart at least three of them and never encountered a pin holding them together. One came apart very easily with penetrating oil and two showed no sign of being able to be taken ap...

•I have taken apart a few Play A Sax players and have a few suggestions. First, the pot metal corrodes over time -- some badly, others less so -- which probably depends on storage conditions. The pot metal can also weaken and break. This may be caused by lubricating oils or other contaminants or may...

•I just got my order of Rolmonica and Play-a-Sax rolls from Ed Schmidt. Perfect service and the rolls are perfect also. If it were not for the "Schmidt's Music Roll" on the box, you would think they are original. A very clever solution to the problem of making a Rolmonica spool economically too. I h...

•Jeff Adkins asked about the bottom housing for his Play-A-Sax [111214 MMDigest]. I have two of these, and both the bottom housings are partially broken. They are made from that 'Mazac' stuff that suffers inter-granular corrosion over the years, resulting in increasingly severe distortion. I am cont...

•I am seeking the bottom housing for the crank mechanism on a QRS Play-A-Sax. I have the sax and the crank handle but my housing is missing. I would like to get this in working condition again as I have many rolls for it. I realize parts for this are a long shot, but please email if you have any. Je...

•Today at an antique show I picked up yet another form of the Play-A-Sax or Rolmonica type of roll-playing, mouth-blown reed organ. It's called the "Fireside Player" with no other manufacturer's marks other than "Patent No. 1813337, Other Pats. Pending." It's of green tinplate and shaped like a carp...

•A major update of the AMICA web site will, if all goes well, go live by the end of this month. In the first phase of this update, we will be posting many pages of introductory material on mechanical musical instruments. To complete these pages, I am in great need of a few images (about 20 total) th...

•Mike Knudsen wrote in 000312 MMDigest: > Today at an antique show I picked up yet another form of the > Play-A-Sax or Rolmonica type of roll-playing, mouth-blown reed organ. > It's called the "Fireside Player" with no other manufacturer's marks > other than "Patent No. 1813337, Other Pats. Pending...

•Don Teach listed a number of firms that punch music rolls, which he thought included all of the firms in the US. I am sure there are a number of others that punch music rolls. Walter Moore has punched rolls, and he has Carl Semon's dies for several different instruments. I have punched rolls for ov...

•I recently bought an incomplete QRS Clarola, the relatively scarce clarinet variant of a Play-A-Sax player harmonica. It's missing the wooden mouthpiece. I wonder if someone out there who has one could possibly send me the measurements, or a close-up photo with a ruler for scale so that I can make ...